Videl's Search
by Engel2092
Summary: The death of her mother shortly before the Cell Games leads Videl to search for the dragon balls with the hope of bringing her mother back. Not knowing what to expect, she sets out, not knowing her destiny is intertwined with the true hero of the Cell Games. Gh/Vi, Romance/Hurt/Comfort. WILL BE REWRITTEN AS "HER QUEST". Please be patient.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A young girl of eleven sat on the steps of the church. Tears stinging her eyes as her two blonde friends sat next to her. A man with an afro came over and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up to see the tears streaming from his face. "I'm sorry pumpkin. I wish I could take this pain away. But we'll get through this together, I promise you that." the man said with a trembling voice.

The girl leaned into her father's arm as they both broke down as the casket was walked out of the church and loaded into the hearse.

This was the funeral for Hercule Satan's wife, Videl's mother. She passed away from a mysterious heart virus that suddenly manifested. The doctors were able to determine that the disease was not transferable, but was possibly genetic, not enough people were being admitted to the hospital for them to run tests.

Everyone who attended the funeral was disappearing, getting ready to return home when an emergency announcement was made on a large screen on one of the buildings. A large bug monster, calling himself Cell, was announcing a tournament for the fate of the planet. Hercule got a determined look on his face.

When they had returned home that night, Hercule and his daughter ate silently and slowly, neither truly hungry after the emotionally draining day. Hercule put his fork down, "I've already decided to participate in the Cell Games." He said slightly sadly, "I feel obligated as the world champ." He continued.

Videl just shrugged. She didn't care, she lost the her mother and just wanted to go to bed, to hope that she would wake up from her current nightmare. She knew the Earth was at stake, but her world was already destroyed by the death of her mother.

**~1 Week Later~**

Videl sat in a chair with her two friends in her father's home theater. The Cell Games were about to be under way and while she waited for them to start, she was reading through a book on mythological beings that grant wishes. Djinn, wishing wells, Leprechauns, even a chapter on Faustian bargains. But none of these had any based in fact or reality.

"Videl, I know you're upset and mourning, but you're hurting yourself with that. Wishes don't come true and the dead don't come back to life." Erasa said concerned about her friend's mental state.

"I don't know about that Erasa." Sharpener said as he looked at Videl, "What about that story of the martial artist Krillin being reported dead shortly before the rise of King Piccolo? The announcer guy for the WMAT even said that he didn't feel a pulse, but in the 23rd WMAT, Krillin participated." Sharpener said as Videl forced a smile to thank her friend for keeping her hopes alive.

"Well Sharpener, if something could bring people back to life, what would it be? Where could it be found? Any answers?" Erasa asked annoyed. She didn't like killing her best friend's hopes, but it's just common knowledge that the dead don't come back to life.

Sharpener's shoulders slumped in frustration. "I don't know that, but Videl has barely smiled or talked in weeks. Even less after the funeral! I'd rather try and give her hope than tear it down." Sharpener argued as Erasa glared.

"Hope is good, but false hope hurts more in the long run! You don't know how to bring her mom back, but you're talking about a way as if it exists." Erasa shot back.

"Both of you stop it!" Videl yelled. A frown decorating her face, "I appreciate what youre both trying to do. In the end, I'll find out what's true or not." She slammed the book shut with a loud thump, "So let's just watch the Cell Games." Videl stated as the Cell Games just about began.

They watched in fear as Cell smacked Hercule into a nearby plateau, amazement as the blonde haired man in an orange Gi fought valiantly against Cell, and concern when a boy, barely older than them got called to fight this powerful monster. Sharpener and Erasa weren't paying attention when the orange gi'ed fighter called out the name of his successor in the fight, assuming the boy was just called the Delivery Boy.

But Videl heard, almost as if the sound of his name was the only sound in the world. She saw the boy, an eleven year old, burdened with the fate of the world. A soft pain behind his teal eyes as he glared at the bug monster. A warrior by the name of Gohan. An eleven year old trusted by his father with the life of the planet, getting punched repeatedly in the face as he refused to fight back. A boy who spoke of peace and spoke out of fear of his own power. She felt tears stinging her own eyes as he begged for Cell to stop torturing his friends.

Finally, Videl felt pride as Gohan's power exploded, along with the camera and the live feed. But she could swear she could still feel his power as he fought for the peace of the Earth, and the immense sadness and rage in his heart as he did.

Before they knew it, they heard the voice of her Father, proclaiming the defeat of Cell at his hands, something she felt was a lie. Barely an hour after the proclamation, she saw the sky go dark, felt a sadness in her heart, before the sky lit up again. She saw seven lights flying around as one fell to her yard.

She decided to leave it until after Erasa and Sharpener went home to check what just fell to Earth. Just as the two blondes began walking to the door, her father kicked the door in and laughed uproariously in victory as Erasa and Sharpener and their parents fawned over him as he declared a victory feast.

When they returned to their home alone, Videl cringed at the drunken behavior of her father as he passed out on the couch in front of the TV, drunkenly cheering himself on in the recap of the day's events. One of those events being that everyone supposedly killed by Cell, had returned to life, her father argued that Cell simply didn't kill anyone and just hired a bunch of actors.

She stepped outside with a flashlight and looked for whatever she saw fall in her yard. She found a stone, a perfectly round stone, with an incredible, but weird energy emanating from it. She wasn't sure what it could have been, but she knew to keep it, feeling deep in her heart that it was important.

On the anniversary of her father's supposed victory, they were about to go out and celebrate, and as she changed into something nice, she found the stone in her dresser, was no longer a stone, but an orange orb with 3 dark orange stars in the middle. She decided she would investigate further when she returned from the celebration. But she did set the orb next to her diary and the picture of her family and one exclusively of her mother.

On this anniversary in particular, their home town of Orange Star City was officially changing the name of their city to Satan City, in honor of her father. Offering them a mansion in the heart of the city, Hercule gladly accepted and in a week the father-daughter duo were moved in, making Videl nervous as she had never felt the need for a house this big.

Her father reassured her that they would get used to it together, but she was resentful of him, because every time he said they would do something together, they grew more distant from each other.

After investigating the mysterious orange orb, she found rumors of wish granting orbs called Dragon Balls, supposedly being orange with dark orange stars, that when all seven were collected their wish would be granted.

That is how Videl Satan made the decision to search for the other six dragon balls so she could wish her mother back to life. She spent the next 6 years studying every piece of science and engineering to figure out how to track the dragon balls. After six grueling years of studying and work, she created her own dragon radar, perfectly tuning it to the resonance put off by her own dragon ball.

The following morning, she put several capsules in her bag and attached her dragon ball to a necklace and prepped her jetcopter outside in her backyard.

She stepped out of her jetcopter for a second to find her father with a stern look on his face, "So this is it huh? Spend the last six years obsessing over this damn ball, and now you're going to look for more!? Because some false hope about bringing her back!? Am I not enough of a parent for you!?" He yelled with a slight slur, disgusting her at 6 in the morning, "What about school? Huh? Are you just dropping out!? Because your mother wouldn't want that!"

Calmly, she faced him confidently, knowing nothing would change her mind. "Of course youre not enough of a parent. You've spent the past seven years lying to me about Cell, you've been in an out of the house every night with a different slut on your arm and any time I try to show independent thought, you use Mom as an excuse, as a guilt trip. As far as school, I graduated Orange Star High two years early! You'd know that if you were around more!" Videl screamed angrily as Hercule glared for a second before waving her off and walking away. Mumbling about her doing whatever she wanted.

Videl got in her copter and made her way towards the nearest dragon ball on the outskirts of East City. Meanwhile, a spiky haired boy woke up, the boy who defeated Cell got dressed in his gi, to go train with his little brother Goten. As he left the house, he stopped in front of an altar by the door, the 4-Star Dragon Ball at the center of the altar with pictures of his father and an older man with a bushy mustache. His namesake, his father's Grandpa Gohan. He smiled as he saw Goten stopping with him in front of the altar for a short prayer.

* * *

**End Prologue**

**A/N: I know I'm in the middle of Fate of the First Super Saiyan, but I had a thought about what happened to Videl's mother, never being confirmed, but I imagine she passed from the mysterious heart virus that Goku had, but it being incredibly rare so doctor's got stumped as to how it was contracted.**

**Anyway, it must have made Videl depressed and superstitious, hoping for anyway to bring her back. I also thought that with any kind of motivation, people can do amazing things, like become incredibly smart to serve their interests**

**It might seem like an odd thing, but I put it so that Videl heard Gohan's name on the broadcast, because in the long run, they are soulmates. So of course she is going to be slightly more attuned to him. Plus, mourning and depression making her more attuned to universal circumstances or connections, Although she didn't know it.**

**The motivation for this story is basically, "What if Videl found Gohan in the wilderness similar to how Bulma found Goku?" By that I mean, she is on a quest for the dragon balls, finds a boy of mysterious strength, and begins hunting for the dragon balls with him.**

**Read and Review, let me know what you think, this story won't last too long, and won't be updated as often as my other story, but I will work on it as much as I can, working on it between chapters for Fate of The First Super Saiyan. Also, if you haven't read my other stories, please, read and review those as well.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Videl had succeeded in the past 6 months. She found two more dragon balls, the 2-star and 7-star dragon balls, leaving her with three out of the seven orbs. She was astonished by how beautiful they looked next to each other. The next one was about a day's trip away in the 439 Mountain Area. She decided to take some time to herself as she fished in the lake she set up her house capsule next to for the night.

As she fished, she looked up at the stars out in the country. She smiled as she could clearly see nebulas and constellations without a telescope out here in the country. She felt so peaceful out here. To the point where part of her was willing to just settle down here and give up. But she knew this peace was temporary as her mind would eventually return to her mother, who was waiting to be brought home.

She returned to her house capsule and cooked her fish as she thought about what was to come with this dragon ball. So far she has had to fight more for her life than she ever had in her life, but she felt like she was getting stronger as she went on, it rekindled her love of martial arts as she spent at least 2 hours a day training her body.

In the morning she woke up to find the TV playing the news, as she fell asleep with the remote in her hands. She did a quick stretch, being careful about where she sets up camp she smiled deviously as she stripped completely naked before running out and jumping in the lake to clean herself off. For the past four months she made sure her camp was always secluded so she could skinny dip. She did it because it made her feel free. Although it made her feel a little shame, it also excited her immensely.

After getting dressed again, she recapsulised her camp and took off in her jetcopter towards the 439 Mountain area, curious why this dragon ball was so deep in the Ox-King's territory. She wasn't sure if she was ready for a fight with a renowned tyrant such as the Ox-King. But she knew nothing would get in her way of her goal to resurrect her mother, not if she could help it.

Gohan meditated in a clearing about one kilometer from his house. It was the same clearing his father would bring him to fish and just relax. He did his best to give his brother similar memories, which was lucky that Goten wanted to do everything his big brother did. Every now and then, though, Gohan did want to be out here by himself, to take time to reminisce.

He felt completely at peace as he listened to the sounds of nature around him. The sound of an engine broke the silence, surprising him enough to lose his concentration and fall into the water below him. He looked up to see a yellow jetcopter flying by him and back towards his home at a decent speed. He reached out with his ki and felt an above normal ki in the copter.

"That's unusual. We don't usually get traffic out here. Why are they heading towards home?" Gohan wondered to himself as he began chuckling to himself, "I should probably get home to make sure Goten isn't torturing anyone." He laughed as he rushed towards his house as fast as he could, passing by the jetcopter, he took a split second to peak inside and was astonished to see a beautiful raven-haired girl with pigtails staring at him in shock. He was surprised considering he barely slowed down at all, just enough for a peak, yet this normal human girl had locked eyes with him for what felt like hours. He was disappointed when he did eventually break gaze and pass by the copter at the speed of light.

As Videl flew towards the dragon ball, she felt a familiar aura that she hadn't felt since the Cell Games wrapped up. She looked out her window as she felt it passed by, and she could see the spiky hair and onyx eyes of a boy her age, looking at her with as much shock as she had on her face.

As he disappeared from sight, she saw a streak of light passing by her, heading in the same direction she was going. '_Is it possible? Was... was that Gohan?_' she thought to herself as she sped up, thoughts racing through her head, '_Is he searching for the Dragon Balls too? Does he live out here? Why else would he be out here? If he is looking for the Dragon Balls then I better hurry and get there before him!_'

Gohan arrived at home and stood outside the door of his house as Goten plowed through the door to tackle him. Gohan expected this and powered up in anticipation so that he wouldn't get taken down. Goten looked up at him and frowned, "I almost got you big brother!" Goten exclaimed as Gohan chuckled. He felt out the power and noticed the copter in the distance.

"Goten, we might have company soon. Remember the rules for acting around humans. Go tell mom that we might have a visitor." Gohan ordered his brother as Goten smiled widely, excited to make a new friend. Goten rushed inside and told his mother who smiled and prepared some tea. She'd be damned if she wasn't polite, even to complete strangers.

Videl landed a bit away from the house as she looked down at Gohan who smiled and waved nervously. Normally when travelers came through, he was cool and collected, but he had never thought he would meet someone so beautiful traveling through his woods.

Videl hopped out of her copter and glared at Gohan. She capsulized her copter and walked over to Gohan. Remembering her manners, she spoke "Hello, My name is Videl Satan." She introduced herself confidently as Gohan was taken back by this girl. She radiated an aura of strength and intelligence.

"Uh, hi? I'm Son Gohan. Might I ask why you are here? We haven't had travelers pass by in a few years." Gohan asked curiously as he noticed a big smile appear on her face before her arms wrapped around him. Gohan and Videl both blushed as Videl hadn't smiled this genuinely in years. She was actually happy to have an opportunity to meet the true savior of the world.

She broke away from him and looked down shyly, "Sorry about that, I recognize you from the Cell Games Broadcast." she explained as Gohan was aghast, fearful of what she might say, "Thank You so much for saving us all." she replied, noticing his face contorted into fear.

Gohan visibly relaxed at this and nervously asked, "How do you recognize me exactly? Most people know me as the Delivery Boy."

Videl giggled slightly remembering Sharpener's declaration to become stronger than the delivery boy. "I heard your dad say your name on the tape. Most people didn't hear that part, but I did." She smirked confidently.

Gohan shrugged, "I guess that makes sense. But I still have to ask why you're here. Like I said, we don't get many travelers anymore and I doubt you came all the way out here to thank me." Gohan requested her purpose.

Videl shifted nervously, "I don't know if you'd believe me. But I'm searching for some magical wish granting orbs called Dragon Balls." she pulled her own dragon radar out and showed him, "According to my dragon ball radar, there is a dragon ball close by, and I was wondering if I could look around your property for it." Videl asked as Gohan inspected the dragon radar impressed by how advanced it is compared to Bulma's radar.

"Well then, that begs the question, what is your wish?" Gohan asked with a straight face as Videl scowled.

"My reasons are private, and even if you saved the world, it certainly doesn't entitle you to those reasons!" She yelled angrily as Gohan was surprised by her outburst.

"It's my business because our dragon ball has sentimental value. We won't just give it up, so I want to know your reasons or you won't get it from us." Gohan stated simply as Videl scowled at his response.

They stared at each other, despite their standoff, Gohan couldn't help but admire her deep cerulean eyes, filled with anger and sadness. A sadness he could recognize and his face fell slightly as he felt a conflict in her.

Just as she was about to respond, he held his hand up, "You don't have to tell me, you want to bring someone back to life don't you?" Gohan asked her, painfully knowing he won't like the answer.

Videl was surprised that he figured it out, but she could swear that she felt his sadness radiating from him. It pained him to ask her that, knowing that he could relate to the pain of loss. "Y-yes. I want to bring someone back to life. I miss her and she was taken too soon." tears began stinging her eyes as she felt vulnerable in the presence of this boy.

"GOHAN! Did you make that poor girl cry!?" Chi-Chi's voice broke the tension as Videl wiped her eyes and gave a fake smile.

"It's okay Mrs. Son, I'm fine." Videl said with a trembling voice.

"It's clearly not by the sound of your voice dear. Would you like to come in for some tea?" Chi-Chi offered kindly as Videl nodded politely. "Great! Gohan, be nice to her." She smacked him lightly with a wooden spoon before turning to go inside before stopping, "By the way dear, please excuse Goten, he's very excitable." she said cheerfully as she stepped inside.

Gohan motioned for her to enter politely as she smiled at him, Gohan easily noticed the façade she had put up, feeling the pain behind her smile.

As Videl entered the warm home she could feel the air of loss that plagued it for so long. Anyone else would believe it was a happy home, filled with a kind matriarch and her two odd but well-raised sons.

But beneath it, Videl felt the loss they felt every day for the unfulfilled role of a patriarch. The closest she felt to the warm feeling that only a father can bestow, was the shrine near the door. A shrine that housed the treasure she sought.

She kept looking at it as she sat with the family for a cup of tea. It didn't take long for Chi-Chi to notice her eyeing their prize.

"So youre after the dragon balls?" Chi-Chi asked politely, with a slight sting in her voice.

Videl looked at her hands sadly, doubt filled her mind as she felt as though she couldnt just whisk away the primary source of light in this otherwise dark home.

"I assume Gohan has already asked for your reasons. That dragon ball belonged to my Goku, it's the reason he and I met. I hope you have a good wish to make." Chi-Chi explained as she smiled lightly at this girl.

Gohan listened intently, feeling the sadness fill her as she struggled to speak. Tears stung her eyes as her voice trembled, "I have a reason, a-and I, uh, I dont know if it's a good enough reason to receive it from you all." Her eyes fell closed as she attempted to stop tears streaming down her face. She was about to ask them for a strong source of warmth in their home be given to her, possibly causing them pain in the process.

She inhaled heavily as she felt a hand on hers, she hadn't realized how tightly she balled up her fist until now. She looked at the source of the hand to see Gohan's goofy smile. He looked over to his mom. "I dont know the details, but somebody passed away, she wants to bring them back." Gohan said as he stood and walked over to the shrine and retrieved their dragon ball.

"I can think of worse reasons to collect the dragon balls." Gohan continued as he set it in front of her. She hesitantly put her hand on it, all of these orbs had an odd energy flowing through them, but this energy was more warm and kind.

Gohan's hand again rested on hers as she grabbed the ball. "My one condition is that I come with you. I know where the 1-star ball is, and it's not easily attainable by normal humans." Gohan explained as she focused on his hand on hers.

She had blushed deeply as her heart fluttered at his touch. She hadnt felt like this since her mother was alive. She looked deep in his eyes as he smiled at her. She nodded in agreement, "Ha-Happy to have you." Her confidence shook around this boy as she agreed to travel with him.

Chi-Chi watched the interaction happily as she gave her blessing for her eldest son to travel with this dragon-ball hunter.

She was offered to stay the night in the guest room, and the two would leave in the morning. As they spoke, Chi-Chi learned of Videl's accomplishments. At such a young age, Videl graduated high school, became an accomplished engineer, even meeting and impressing Bulma Briefs during an internship at Capsule Corp.

If she didnt think she'd make a good wife for her Gohan before, she certainly did now, and she was not afraid to mention it to the embarassed teens.

* * *

**End Chapter**

**Gohan joins Videl's journey, and they will search for the remaing three Dragon Balls.**

**I will try and keep the chapters short and sweet.**

**In an effort to hear people's opinions and reviews. I will not do too many Author's Notes, and will not explain my writing. I will try to reply to reviews via Private Messaging.**

**Please Review and thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Videl woke up in the guest room of the Son house, being an early riser, she hopped out of bed and prepared to go outside to get food from her capsule fridge. As she passed the kitchen, she heard the clanging of dishes together. Looking inside she saw Chi-Chi cooking up a storm. Chi-Chi saw the younger girl after looking slightly over her shoulder, "Good Morning Videl! I'm surprised to see you awake so early. Did you sleep well?" the matriarch asked as Videl nodded, slightly uncomfortable by the kind attitude of the older woman.

"Yes, it's so peaceful out here, it's hard not to get a good night's rest." Videl said politely as she observed the mountain of food Chi-Chi prepared for breakfast. "Are you usually the first one awake Chi-Chi?" Videl asked as she figured it would take hours to prepare all this food.

"No no, Gohan works on 5 hours of sleep every night. At three in the morning, every morning, he goes out into the field to train, while I wake up an hour and a half later to start cooking." Chi-Chi explained as Videl's eyes widened. She'd never expect anyone would beat her 5:30am wake-up.

Chi-chi smiled slightly deviously at her, "If you wouldn't mind, breakfast is almost ready and Gohan should be just down by the lake. Would you go get him for me." she asked politely, knowing Gohan was used to a routine and always comes back in time for breakfast.

Videl nodded and walked out and down towards the lake. After about ten minutes of walking, she reached the lake and was surprised to see two Gohans fighting each other. Even more surprised to see them both shirtless as sweat glistened off of the Saiyan's chest and arms.

She wanted to say she has never seen this before, but she remembered the Cell Games footage that Cell did something similar to this technique, but there was four Cells then. She watched as the fight came to an end as one of the Gohans disappeared into the other and he picked up his shirt and used it as a towel to wipe off his sweat.

He looked up to see Videl and smiled, causing her heart to beat furiously. "Hey Videl! I didn't see you there." His voice causing her cheeks to burn. "What's up?" He asked casually as she looked down at her feet to avoid his eyes.

"Y-your mother, uh, asked me to-to come get you for breakf-f-fast." She stammered as he looked confused.

"Why? I know what time breakfast is usually ready, I still have about fifteen minutes." Gohan explained confused as Videl internally cursed the woman. Chi-Chi was not shy with her opinions of them as a couple.

Trying to recover, she looked back at him, wearing his gi-top now, although it left little to her imagination with how low cut the neckline was, "Well, it took me about ten minutes to just walk out here. So maybe we can start walking?" She suggested as Gohan shrugged and gave her a smile, causing her heart to flutter once more.

'_C'mon Videl! Get a hold of yourself!_' Videl berated herself in her thoughts as Gohan now stood in front of her, the height difference obvious.

"I guess it will give us some time to talk more." He said with a kind smile as Videl returned it with although a little more awkward.

They begun to walk back as Videl stared at him, "So how long have you been training in martial arts?" Videl asked, wondering truly how long it took for that body to form.

Gohan put a finger on his chin, "Gosh, it's been almost eleven? twelve years? I started around five years old." Gohan answered as Videl's jaw dropped.

"But that cannot be healthy! Couldn't it cause degradation of muscle mass later on in life?" Videl asked as the biologist in her sprang to life.

Gohan laughed nervously, "Maybe in humans, but I'm not exactly a full human." Gohan explained nervously as Videl's eyes widened again.

"Don't tell me you're an alien? That's just supposed to be conspiracy theorist pseudo-science! You can't possibly be an alien!" Her voice almost whined, thinking it was unfair for such a perfect body be inhuman. '_I'd think he were a greek god before an alien!'_ she thought to herself.

"Well technically half-alien. Although I am definitely an earthling. I was born and raised here. So I don't know if I can be classified as an alien." Gohan explained with a goofy grin.

Videl smiled back, although this time the awkward feeling was gone, "So not to sound racist or anything, but half-breeds are fairly uncommon in nature. It's impossible for a fish to mate with a monkey because they aren't compatible that way. Not to mention, you don't really have any alien characteristics. It's still hard to believe you're an alien." Videl asked as Gohan smiled at the question.

"I've thought about that before myself. But Humans and Saiyans are compatible because of how genetically alike they are, it comes down to the theory of evolution. Most people argue that humans can't have evolved from apes simply because apes are still around. But what scientists have more often contested is that apes and humans share common ancestors." Gohan explained, honestly shocking Videl. She knew Chi-Chi had him study from their previous talks, but she didn't realize how much. She couldn't help but smile, it's been literal months since her last intelligent conversation.

"So you're saying that Saiyans or even Saiyan ancestors have common features to Humans or their ancestors? Something along those lines? Enough for humans and saiyans to be genetically compatible in pro-creation?" Videl summed up as Gohan nodded.

"There aren't many differences between Humans and Saiyans to be honest. Saiyans were just more bred to fight, so we've adapted to have enhanced strength and reflexes. The primary difference between humans and Saiyans is that a Saiyan is born with a monkey tail." Gohan explained as Videl got curious and leaned backwards, causing Gohan to laugh.

"I don't have mine anymore. It got cut off a long time ago. Goten still has his though. Which is why he couldn't come train with me this morning." Gohan said as Videl looked back to him confused.

"Why not? Because he has a tail? Seems arbitrary." Videl pointed out as Gohan chuckled nervously, not sure how to explain this next part.

"Well, putting it simply, there was a full moon last night and you can think of Saiyans with tails as Were-monkeys. If Goten looked at the full moon, he would've transformed into a giant ape." Gohan said nervously, knowing it sounded kind of made up.

"A giant ape?" She asked flatly, and unamused almost as if he had told a bad joke.

They weren't far from his house and they still had a few minutes before breakfast would be ready. He turned to look at her with worried eyes. "Listen Videl, I know I've said a lot of fantastical, almost made up things, but I have no reason to lie. So if you don't want me to come with you for any reason, be it fear of my alien heritage or whatever, I'll understand. You can come get the four star ball when you get the other six dragon balls." Gohan offered as Videl smirked.

"On the contrary Gohan!" She exclaimed as she poked his firm chest, "Whether you lied or not is irrelevant, I'd be more interested in finding out whether it's true. You're not getting rid of me so easily, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fascinated by the result of miscegenation that is you, Son Gohan. We're taking off right after breakfast, so I hope you're ready." Videl said as Gohan felt oddly relieved by her determination to keep him around.

They ate breakfast, Videl still stunned by the amount the two boys could eat compared to their mother. But she figured she should get used to it considering he'd probably be eating like that during the rest of the trip. Just like she said, after breakfast they left the Son household as Videl decapsulated her Jet Copter. Before getting in, Gohan noticed the name on the side had been crossed out. "Hey Videl, not to bother you too much, but why is 'Satan' crossed out on the paintjob?" Gohan asked as Videl's face turned to a scowl.

"Simple. He's a no-good, lie-to-the-world, glory-hogging, womanizing piece of shit. I'd prefer not to associate myself with him." Videl spat venomously as she powered the copter up and took off before Gohan was fully inside. As Gohan pulled himself into the copter he looked at her shocked that she did that, thinking she was abandoning their agreement. "and for bringing him up, you can sit in the back." she ordered, the scowl not leaving her face.

Gohan wanted to argue, but could feel pain beneath the scowl and that if he tried getting some sort of explanation in this while she was in this mindset, it would do no good. He huffed as he made his way to the back of the jet copter. "I'm sorry I brought it up." He said as he sat down with his legs crossed.

Videl's scowl left her face as tears formed in her eyes. It wasn't his fault, she didn't paint over that name well enough, opting instead it just cross it out. Her pride wasn't about to let her apologize so soon though. She began fiddling with the dragon radar as she flew, the closest dragon ball wasn't that far, the map matched the coordinates to being in the dead center of an area called the Land of Korin. The next closest dragon ball was near in a mountain range just North of the Land of Korin called Yunzabit. The furthest dragon ball was in the heart of East City.

Videl opted to go for the closer ones for the trip to East City would take a couple days no matter what. They flew in silence, tension rising as time went on. Gohan quickly deduced that they were heading towards the Land of Korin. He stood and moved to the front seat and looked at the dragon radar. "You're going to want to go a little North. You won't get to that dragon ball very easily." he stated calmly as he prepared to move back to the back of the cargo hold.

Before he left she gave him a stubborn look, "And why won't I get to that one easily? I have already collected four of them on my own." She claimed proudly as Gohan sighed and sat down in the front seat.

"First of all, I still hold the four star ball, you didn't collect it, I am offering it to you. Secondly, the 1-Star ball is being held by the Guardian of Earth, who lives on a castle that floats in what can best be described as the middle stratosphere." Gohan explained as Videl just glared.

"You're joking, right? Earth's Guardian? Floating Castle? Please, it's a fairy tale." She said as they began descending.

Gohan grew irritated by that, "Earth's Guardian and the Lookout are not fairy tales. I've personally been there. Dende is my personal friend!" he exclaimed annoyed as Videl scoffed.

"I'll believe your an alien warrior. I'll believe you can turn into a ten-story monkey during a full moon. I'll even believe that there is a magical wish granting orbs! But it'll be a cold day in Hell before I believe in a God that takes a little girl's mother away in the same week her father goes to fight to his death against a giant green bug monster! No God would be that capricious!" Videl exclaimed as tears stung her eyes.

Gohan swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked forward. He wanted to defend Dende, but how was he supposed to defend against an angry, grieving atheist. They landed on the ground next to a large tower.

'_I guess she'll just have to see for herself._' Gohan thought as he watched her step out of the vehicle and follow the dragon radar to the base of the tower.

"It's got to be around here somewhere." She whispered to herself as she circled the tower base several times kicking the taller grass with her foot. "This doesn't make sense!" she exclaimed to herself, again quietly. She looked back at Gohan who had a sad look on his face.

"FINE!" She yelled as she walked up to him, "Jokes on me, where is it Gohan! Why isn't it here? The radar says we're right on top of it!" She demanded answers as tears began streaming down her face, her fist balled up tightly as he simply pointed up.

She looked up, not even able to see the top of the tower, she looked back at him, "Don't play with me Gohan. That tower isn't exactly thick! How would someone be able to get the dragon ball up there and stay up?!" Videl asked, her short fuse becoming shorter by the second.

"I'm not joking. That is Korin's Tower. Legend has it that if a martial artist climbs up the tower, Master Korin will give them the sacred water that will make them more powerful." Gohan explained with a serious face as Videl looked back at him and hopped in her copter before taking off, not waiting for Gohan to get in with her.

"Well lucky for me, I don't want to get stronger! I just want that dragon ball!" he heard her yell as she took off really fast straight up.

He followed her easily, knowing that the sudden pressure change will knock her out. After getting about halfway up, Gohan felt Videl's ki begin to drop as she slowly lost consciousness. He rushed to grab the copter as it began to descend.

He placed it on the ground and frowned when he looked into the window. She sat there, traces of tears that streamed down her face, passed out. He pulled out her capsules and decapsuled the house and took her into the bedroom, placing her down as he went to the couch and laid down. "I'm truly sorry Videl." He said quietly to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**End Chapter**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_"Wait for me Erasa!" A young black-haired girl yelled as she ran after her friend on the playground. She ran up the stairs leading to the top of the slide. Once there, she came across a coffin, the girls eyes widened in fear._

_As she was starting to back away the coffin began to open. A decomposed body lifted up and stared at her with sad eyes. "Why haven't you brought me back? Do you not love me Videl? Do you not want us to be a family again!?" The corpse screamed as she lifted up._

_Videl stepped back against a firm body, she looked up to see one of her father's whores smiling at her, "Don't worry little girl," she spoke in a raspy voice, her breath smelling of lung cancer, "I'll be your new mommy." The woman reached down to grab her only for her to start hacking up her lungs._

_She was backing away again from the whore, only to trip over the railing of the jungle gym. She began free-falling for what felt like ages when a bright light began shining all around her._

Sunbeams cut through the window, assaulting the girls eyes as she woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. She looked around to get a bearing on her surroundings and found the young spiky haired man she started her journey with sleeping soundly on the chair next to her.

She brought her knees to her chest as she thought of the nightmare she had just endured. '_I'm sorry mama, I'm failing you._' she thought as tears began streaming from her eyes.

Gohan woke to a familiar sound of soft crying. He looked at Videl who had her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, and her eyes shut tightly in pain. Even if they were open, he doubted that she would be able to see him through the torrent running from her eyes. His mind drifted back to the days after the Cell Games, he would wake up to find his pregnant mother in a similar position. Always hating the sound of his mother crying he stood up and sat on the bed, startling the young girl, but gently placing a hand on her back.

She wanted to scream at him, tell him to leave her alone, but the words couldn't come out, her throat sore from sobbing. She did her best to glare at the boy, only for him to smile kindly in return, giving her a warm feeling in her stomach. They sat like that for what felt like hours, but was only minutes as her tears slowly dried. Something about his presence just made her comfortable in that moment.

Before she could muster the courage to speak, he stood up and smiled at her, "I'm going to start cooking breakfast. Take your time up here." he said as he quietly left the room, her face red and puffy.

She walked into her personal bathroom as Gohan cooked, she looked to the mirror and saw herself and scowled at the image before her. She wasn't this, this crying, weak, pathetic charity case. She was Videl Satan, she prided herself on her independence and intelligence, and now, Gohan had seen her at one of her weakest moments.

Gohan cooked up a buffet of pancakes, waffles, eggs, omelettes, bacon, and sausage. He wasn't as great a cook as his mother, but he did his best to make sure himself and his little brother were well-fed in the early days. He remembered how his mother had quite a bit of trouble looking at Goten for awhile, the boy's hair and care-free nature making it hard for her not to think of her deceased husband. Not realizing he had zoned out, he rushed to flip the bacon, making sure it wouldn't burn. If he hadn't zoned out, he would've heard the distinct sound of glass breaking.

As he finished up, Videl came downstairs with a bandage on her right hand and a scowl on her face. "What are you doing cooking!? We have a dragon ball to find!" She yelled angrily as Gohan blinked in confusion as he placed the last plate on the table.

"Well, we have to eat, can't go searching on an empty stomach now." Gohan stated, thinking it was an obvious fact only for Videl to knock some of the plates from the table.

Gohan, still confused looked at her with concern, but before he could object, she was in his face, poking his chest, "I think you may have forgotten, but this is my journey. You're just along for the ride! What I say goes, and if I say we skip breakfast then we skip breakfast!" She declared as she turned and headed for the door.

He was used to angry rants coming from his mother, but even she would never deprive herself or others of food. He sighed sadly as he pulled out a capsule and put the food in there, knowing it'd be kept hot. He stepped outside and Videl recapsuled the house and sent him a glare.

"So what did you do with my jet copter?" She asked irately as Gohan chuckled nervously.

"I put it back in it's capsule. You sound irritable, are you sure you don't want breakfast?" He asked nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.

She glowered at him, "If you mention breakfast one more time, I will go on without you. Understand?" She said lowly as he noticed her bandaged hand.

Ignoring her look of death he grabbed her hand, "What did you do? Are you alright?" He asked, concern laced in his voice as she tried to rip her hand from him.

"NOTHING! Don't worry about it!" she struggled desperately as Gohan inspected the poorly wrapped bandage.

"Did you even try to clean this cut?" Gohan asked with authority in his voice as Videl stared him down in silence, "I don't know why you won't tell me who you're trying to revive, or anything like that, but it won't do you any good at all if you die of sepsis before you collect all the dragon balls!" He scolded in an uncharacteristic manner as Videl tried to pry her hand away again.

"Then I guess we'll have to revive them before I die then." she said sarcastically as Gohan sighed annoyed.

He could see the defiance in her eyes, there was no way she would listen to reason right now. He cringed as he was reminded of his own journey of self-inflicting damage after his father died. The scar going up his left arm almost burning as he remembered throwing himself in front of Cell's attack on Vegeta.

He let go of her hand as she pulled it back to her chest. He knew there was only one way to at least save her from an infection. Without a word he flew up as fast as he could and landed on top of Korin Tower. Before Videl could make any move, he had returned with a brown sack, and pulled out a bean. "If you won't let me help you get something to eat, or properly bandage your hand, at least eat this." He said annoyed as he handed it to her.

She took it from him skeptically and looked at it, "It's a bean!" She yelled confused as Gohan nodded, "You want me to eat a bean, and you think that will help in some way?" She threw it back in his face as his patience with the girl began to run thin.

He just looked at her, catching her pure blue eyes and frowned, "I don't expect you to trust me. But I promise you, all I want to do is help." He said quietly as Videl saw the sadness fill his eyes. "That's all I have ever wanted to do." He said even quieter as he turned to grab the capsule case.

She picked up the bean and wiped it off. Before Gohan looked back she popped it into her mouth. The sting of the cut disappeared and her stomach felt full, like she wouldn't have to eat for days.

Gohan handed her the capsule case and frowned, "I'll give you time to cool off without me. You clearly don't care for having me here, so I'll meet you in Yunzabit Heights. You can either go for the dragon ball there, or you can try and fail to go up the tower again." Gohan said bluntly, his feelings obviously hurt by the girl who had shown him nothing but contempt this morning.

She looked up at the tower again and back down to Gohan who was walking away. She was feeling alone again as the distance between them became greater. '_Why am I pushing him away?_' she thought to herself for a second as she watched him go. Her face steeled as she pushed that thought down, '_So what if he goes! Not like I need him anyway. I didn't need him to collect the first three. In fact, I won't need him for anything other than the four-star ball._' she smirked as she got her jet copter out and prepared to fly up only for his words to ring in her head.

'_That's all I have ever wanted to do._'

Gohan heard the jet-copter powering up and exhaled softly, '_I can't believe the bull-headedness of that girl._' he thought to himself as he prepared to catch her plane again, should it fall.

But before he could even turn around, her jet copter appeared from the trees and landed right in front of him, "You want a ride to Yunzabit Heights or something? I know you don't plan on walking all the way there!" She said with a bit of a smile as he blinked in confusion.

'_Oh I give up, I didn't think girls could be this complicated!_' he thought to himself as his eye twitched.

He realized he hadn't said anything for a while he rubbed the back of his neck and began laughing, "Well sure! If you're going that way." He said nervously as he hopped in an buckled up.

The two sat in silence for about an hour as they made their way to Yunzabit. Videl kept looking at Gohan from the corner of her eyes as she blushed. Finally, she inhaled deeply, "I'm sorry Gohan." she apologized as Gohan looked at her with a smile.

"It's alright Videl. I unde-"

"You didn't let me finish." She interrupted with a slight glare. She turned her eyes away from Gohan, "Sorry, it's just," another sigh escaped her lips, "It's just that I haven't exactly been social in a while. Not since my mom died." She said as her voice hitched. She inhaled heavily again, trying to keep the tears away, "Not to mention, I didn't exactly want to be seen crying. I don't like being weak like that."

Just as tears assaulted her eyes, Gohan spoke, "Crying doesn't make you weak Videl. It makes you human. I know it sounds cliché, but it's true. You shouldn't be ashamed to express your emotions normally." Gohan told her as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Besides, you're one of the strongest people I've met outside of my family and friends, and I mean that literally." Gohan stated as Videl gave a small, insecure smile.

"Thanks, but I don't know if it's the same. Can we just find the dragon ball and kind of forget everything else today?" She asked as Gohan nodded.

"Sure, but if you don't mind, I'd love to hear about your mother. You seem to be going to great lengths just to revive her." Gohan asked, causing Videl to tense up slightly, "I'm not asking you to relive her death or anything, she sounds like a great woman is all." Gohan said hurriedly to calm Videl down.

Videl smiled at that and thought back to all the times her mother would tuck her in, how she'd be there every morning when she woke up. How she would take her to the park and run around with her on the jungle gym. The memories flooding through her mind caused tears to stream down her face.

Gohan looked concerned for a second, but Videl wiped the tears away and smiled as she began telling him about her for a good portion of their trip.

They reached Yunzabit by early evening and began scouring the area for the orange ball. As they got close with the other balls, the 6 star ball began to glow bright orange. Videl picked it up and showed Gohan with a bright, genuine smile.

As she gave him that smile, something stirred inside his heart as observed her messy hair, sweat glistening from her forehead as they walked back to the jet copter. But most of all, the sound of her voice as she spoke excitedly and happily, drowned out all other sounds around him. He knew that as impossible as it sounded, he never wanted to see her sad again and he would do anything he could to keep her happy.

As Videl hopped into the copter alone she looked back at Gohan with a confused expression, "What's the matter Gohan?" She asked with sincere concern as he smiled widely at her.

"I think I lied to you earlier Videl. I'm not going to forget today, or any single part of this trip for that matter. Despite the rocky start, today was really fun and I'm just, I'm just glad to be here with you." He said boldly as Videl blushed slightly at his words.

Her heart fluttered at the sound of those words as she smirked, "You know what, I'm glad you're here too." She replied with a blush as the two began making the long trek to East City.

* * *

**End Chapter**

**Dragon Balls Collected: 2, 3, 4, 6, 7**

I would like to thank the user **I before A except after K** for his review. Made the suggestion that I need to work on my characterization, and I sincerely hope this chapter had it a bit better.

**Read & Review!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It had been 2 days since they collected the last dragon ball from Yunzabit Heights. The two travelers had decided to stop next to a lake for lunch as they weren't far from East City and could easily relax.

Gohan was still frustrated by Videl's stubbornness at times, he didn't want to pry too much, but curiosity was getting the better of him the more he learned about her mother. As much as she was opening up, she still got defensive about her home life before her journey.

But he couldn't deny that he felt more relaxed sitting by the lake fishing with Videl than he had in a long time. He looked over at her with a content smile as she loosely held her fishing pole as she nodded off slowly.

Although he hadn't learned much about the girl with eyes as blue as the lake before them, he couldn't deny that he found her company intoxicating.

He especially admired her beauty, her jet black hair cascading down to her shoulders, her toned, muscular body twitching ever so lightly as she moved. Her breasts heaving as she took shallow breaths as she slowly fell asleep.

'_Ah jeez, maybe mother was right, Master Roshi is a bad influence on me._' He thought as his cheeks burned a bright red with embarrassment. Despite wanting to look away to avoid anymore perverse thoughts from crossing his mind, he couldn't help but continue to admire her.

A beeping from the dragon radar stirred Videl from her slumber as Videl woke up, she directed her attention to the source of the beeping. As she looked over, she blushed as she noticed Gohan was staring at her with an almost lustful look on his face.

It wasn't until Gohan looked back to her face that he noticed the beeping. He looked away embarrassed and did his best to hide his eyes from Videls.

Videl grabbed the dragon radar, the blush still apparent on her cheeks, but accompanied by a new scowl. She pressed a few buttons and was surprised to see the coordinates for the next dragon ball were rapidly changing.

"What the hell?" She asked quietly to herself as she continued pressing the buttons to track it, "Hey Gohan?" She called over to him.

Gohan looked over nervously, worried that she was angry at him, "Uh, yeah Videl? What's up?" he asked as Videl didn't even look up, and motioned for him to come over to her.

"Come over here, I think the next dragon ball is moving." Videl stated as Gohan furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Really? That's highly unlikely, not many people would just pick it up for no reason." Gohan pointed out confused as he thought about who else might be actively searching for the balls. "Is it moving in any specific direction?" Gohan asked curiously as Videl tracked the trajectory of the ball.

She tensed visibly and became a little shaky, "Uh-huh, it's-it's headed toward Sata- I mean, Orange Star City." She stammered as she sweatdropped nervously, 'O_h no just my luck._' she thought with a sigh.

"Well that's great! It's actually moving closer to us. We could just intercept it at Orange Star City!" Gohan exclaimed with optimism as Videl's eye twitched annoyed.

There was no way she was willing to go to back to her hometown, not without her mother. Even if she was forced to for the dragon ball, she definitely didn't want to bring this boy with her. The press in that city would have a field day with her in public with a boy.

She scowled as Gohan gave her a goofy grin, "Well I mean, what are the chances it's even stopping in the city?" She asked annoyed as his grin remained. "I mean, it is moving pretty fast, let's just wait for it to stop before doing anything rash."

Gohan was confused by her reaction, "Don't you want to get it as soon as possible? They'll surely make a rest stop in the city and I'm sure whomever has it would be willing to give it to us if we ask nicely enough." He proposed as Videl simply glared.

"You haven't been to too many cities, have you?" Videl asked as Gohan simply laughed.

"Nope, not really!" He exclaimed with a goofy grin as Videl smirked, trying to keep a chuckle from escaping her lips.

"Well people from the city aren't very nice in general. They won't just give you things if you ask nicely enough. We'd be lucky to purchase them from whomever has them." Videl explained as Gohan shrugged it off.

"That's fine. We'll figure it out. Besides, I kind of want to see the city. I'll be starting college there soon and it'd be good to at least see it first." Gohan stated as Videl tensed up further.

"You're not letting this go, are you?" Videl asked as Gohan noticed her discomfort.

"I can if you want me to, but it seems kind of wrong to try and ambush someone for a dragon ball." Gohan said with a smile as he put a hand on her shoulder. He pulled out a map and looked around, "Here, it looks like we could camp here and that should give us enough time to be able to intercept them just 10 miles south of the city." Gohan informed her as Videl smiled.

"Thank You Gohan. I've tried my best to avoid big cities." Videl said as she fell backwards and looked up at the sky.

Gohan smiled at her form as she breathed slowly, "Not a problem, but we should probably go now so that we can make it to the camp site before they leave Orange Star City." Gohan told her as Videl nodded and hopped to her feet.

They reached the campsite later that evening and set up camp. They sat in the house together as they ate the dinner Gohan prepared. It seemed so calm, so peaceful with Gohan as they watched the television. Suddenly a voice exploded from the TV as Hercule Satan appeared on screen, promoting some movie.

"Hey I remember that guy. I wonder why he's on TV." Gohan said as he suddenly heard something about him being the champ that defeated Cell. "Defeated Cell? Is that what people think?" Gohan asked Videl as she looked at him confused.

"You're joking, right? You didn't know Hercule took credit for beating Cell?" Videl asked as Gohan shook his head.

"What can I say? We don't watch Television very often up in the mountains." Gohan said with a smile as Videl let her eyes go wide.

She got a more curious expression on her face as she prepared to ask a question, "So, how do you feel about that then? Knowing someone is taking your claim to fame?" Videl asked nervously as Gohan seemingly thought about it for a second.

With a laugh he responded, "I guess I couldn't really care! The world is safe after all, and it keeps attention away from my family as well. My father beat King Piccolo ages ago, nobody seems to care about that anymore." Gohan pointed out as Videl smiled as he looked at the afro man. "Besides, I'd be lying if I said I even remember his name. For a world champ he doesn't seem to tour in my area."

Videl rolled her eyes, quietly relieved that Gohan didn't know she was related to the pompous ass. "It's no big deal. He only tours where he thinks he could get an easy lay. With what you said about not watching tv in the mountains, he probably already knows people up there don't know him well there." Videl stated as Gohan gave a quizzical look.

"How do you know that Videl? Have you met him?" Gohan asked as Videl tensed up, angry at herself.

"No! no! Never!" She raised her hands defensively as Gohan was confused by her mood change, "I've just heard rumors is all. He sleeps with a different whore every night." She tried to play it off.

"Huh, if that's the case, I'd hate to meet him." Gohan stated simply as Videl looked at him slightly defensively.

"What's that supposed to mean exactly? He may not be perfect, but I'm sure he has some redeeming characteristics." Videl wasn't her father's biggest fan, but he was still family.

Gohan laughed nervously as he rubbed his neck, "Well, I have a really sensitive nose, and people like that smell, well, really bad. They can wash all they want, it doesn't go away to me." Gohan explained as Videl became curious.

"You can actually smell whores?" Videl asked as Gohan tensed at the brash word. "You really don't like that word, do you?"

"My mother told me it shouldn't be used, regardless of how true it is of someone." Gohan said as Videl laughed loudly at the innocent boy, only to be joined by him.

They spoke for hours before deciding to go to bed. The next morning, Videl woke up and looked to see how far the dragon ball was from Satan City, only for it to still be in the heart of the city. '_Oh dear lord. It's not going to move is it?_' she thought to herself sadly as she put it away. She walked outside to see Gohan doing his normal exercises without his shirt. She couldn't help but admire his body as it moved gracefully through the martial arts he practiced.

Deciding to get a closer look she walked towards him, "Hey Gohan, do you think you could show me some stuff?" Videl asked with a blush as his muscles rippled as he turned towards her.

"Sure! We should have time before the dragon ball starts moving." He replied happily as he gave her some instruction. Before they knew it, it was mid-afternoon and she was floating as high as a tree. Videl came down and smiled widely at Gohan who smiled right back goofily.

As he smiled she felt a blush in her cheeks as she stared at the boy she had spent the past week with, everything about him made her feel at peace.

Gohan felt her touch his cheek softly as he looked down at her, he noticed her blush as she slowly pulled herself toward him. She suddenly felt his breath on her lips and recoiled slightly. "Sorry." She said as she ran back to the capsule home.

Gohan stood confused as his heart sank, he had never felt like this before as Videl retreated. He was simultaneously happier than he had been in a long time, and more heartbroken than he had been in a long time.

He walked into the capsule home and found her bedroom door locked with her inside, he could hear faint breathing as she cried very quietly. He went downstairs when his stomach growled, there he noticed the dragon radar and forgot the entire reason he was travelling with Videl. '_CRAP! We must have missed them by a few hours!_' he thought to himself as he picked it up and looked only to see the dot in the heart of the city. '_Whew, we're fine, I guess we're good to stay one more night here. I don't think Videl will want to go anywhere right now._' he thought sadly as he began preparing dinner for the both of them.

In her room, Videl laid on her bed, curled into a ball as she stared into the picture of her mother. "How could I do this? I'm not supposed to be happy without you mama." she said quietly to herself as she thought about the near kiss she and Gohan almost shared. "How are we supposed to continue like this? Especially with me blowing him off like that? It'd almost be better if I kissed him, but I can't do that!" She rolled over to her other side.

She suddenly smelled good food as Gohan cooked, "AND NOW HE'S COOKING! God, he could not be anymore perfect, and yet I can't let myself fall for him mama! It's unfair to him and unfair to you!" She berated herself when a knock came to the door. She knew she looked a mess and should just pretend to be asleep, but she also yearned for his company.

Gohan knocked again, "Videl?" he asked, concerned laced in his voice, "I made dinner. We really should eat." he informed her. He was once again met with silence.

She stood at the door, resisting any attempt to open it for him. "Alright, I'll leave a plate out here for you and walk away. I hope you wake up in time to eat it while it's still hot. If not, then I, uh, I hope to see you in the morning." She heard him set a plate down before knocking again, "I had fun with you today Videl. I hope you did too." she could hear the sadness in his voice, practically begging for confirmation.

She waited a second before opening the door wide to see the plate on the ground. Tears hit the floor as she picked it up and retreated back into her room. '_You're a coward Videl._' she thought to herself as she ate the food, alone in the dark, wishing for the warm embrace of the muscular man she spent her day with.

Just as she ate alone, so did he. Gohan imagining the night before, the two of them laughing happily as they talked, the warmth radiating from her smile. He couldn't deny it any longer. He was falling in love with the cerulean eyed girl. But he wasn't sure how she felt about him, and that made him nervous about the rest of their journey. Would she still want to travel with him?

* * *

Meanwhile, in Satan City, a young woman with blonde hair admired her new bedroom decoration. She had a few weeks left before she would move into her dorms and was excited to see how this orange starred ball would fit into the decorations.

"Erasa, I don't know why you spent so much zeni on that ball. It's worthless!" A long haired boy said as he laid on her bed, shirtless and awaiting her company with a smirk.

She glared at him, "Don't be mean. It's so pretty! I'm sure it'll look great in the sunlight at the dorms! I'll make my roommate jealous with such a pretty thing!" Erasa exclaimed as she fawned over the ball.

The boy laid back and rolled his eyes, "Whatever, just come to bed already, would ya?" the boy begged with a slight pout as Erasa turned and gave him a smirk before removing her top to reveal her enviable breasts.

"If you insist. But only because you're cute when you're being pathetic." she teased as she dropped her pants as well and jumped into bed.

Neither of the two noticing the ball glow for a second.

* * *

**End Chapter**

**For those who follow my other story, Fate of the First Super Saiyan, I apologize but I am no longer going to be updating every Friday. I will try to make sure to update weekly still, but it won't always be on Friday. It might be on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, but the goal is just weekly.**

**I will continue updating this story as often as I can with no set schedule.**

**And as you can see, I am setting it up for a confrontation between Gohan and Erasa, one of the only three who knows about the death of Videl's mother, and the cause, if you catch my meaning. **

**Read & Review.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Long Chapter Alert, 3000+ words.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE NOW! This is a SLIGHT rewrite, very slight in fact, only at the end, I had someone point out that Gohan's reaction at the end was a little too melodramatic. No reason to have him crying and I agree. **

**I'm sure there are other parts where they're both overdramatic, and I will continue to work on that. It was also pointed out that their relationship seemed rushed, so I will make efforts to slow down, and put a little more emphasis on the development of their relationship in the next chapter.**

**This is why I encourage reviews, I want to hear where I can improve and if I am going too fast, not fast enough, characterization too bland. All of that, once again, I thank _I Before A Except After K_ for his review, as well as the guest who pointed out that if I don't slow it down, I will probably need a sequel. I do not intend this story to have a sequel.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_Videl sat in a chair, a book in her hand, sipping on what seemed to be iced tea with a smile on her face. In the other room she could hear the giggles of her 3 year old daughter. A little girl with onyx eyes strolled into the room confidently with a goofy smile on her face, a trait she inherited from her father._

_"Hi mama!" She exclaimed happily as she jumped up into Videl's lap. Videl gave an elated smile as she wrapped her arms around the little girl._

_"Hi Pan! Is your daddy playing with you?" Videl asked as Pan nodded._

_"Mhm! But papa is old! He said he's tired." She sneered jokingly as the man with spiky black hair and glasses stepped in the room._

_"What can I say? I haven't trained in a few years, she has better stamina." The man said with a tired grin as he collapsed on the couch. "I don't think I ever had that much energy as a kid." he said exasperated._

_Videl smirked, "Of course you did, your mother just forced that energy into your studies." she replied facetiously as the man stuck his tongue out. Videl turned to her daughter, "I guess it's my turn to play with you since papa is being an funkiller." She joked as she Pan cheered and ran out of the room, yelling for her mother to chase after her._

_Videl kissed her husband on the cheek before chasing the three year old girl out into the yard. They spent the next half hour playing before going inside to see the spiky haired husband and father cooking for the two of them. _

_Until Videl noticed a black haired woman sitting at the table, her back to Videl and Five Dragon Balls sitting in a circle near the woman._

_Tears began to roll down her cheeks as Videl reached out to the woman, "M-Mama?" she said through her tears as she touched the woman's shoulder. The woman lurched forward as Videl recoiled. "Mama?" she whispered this time._

_"Isn't it great? Your mother is visiting." her husband said in an odd tone of voice. She turned to see her husband's face was decaying as she stepped backwards away from him._

_She didn't realize she got real close to her mother, who had turned to look at her, with the same state of decay. She jumped away from the two of them when she heard a small raspy voice behind her._

_"What's the matter mama? Aren't you happy nana is here?" Pan said, the same odd tone her papa had used. Videl's breath hitched, dread filling her heart as she turned to see her little Pan-Pan was also decaying, a worm crawling from her nose to her eyeball._

_The walking corpses got closer and closer to her as they reached out for her._

She woke up with strong arms wrapped around her, the sound of a heart, beating in her ears. She looked up to concerned onyx eyes and spiky black locks, "Are you alright Videl? You were having a nightmare!" worry was inherent in the boy's voice as he held her tightly.

She leaned into it, her eyes flooding as she remembered the horrible dream. Gohan didn't say anything as he held her, gently stroking her hair. They sat there for what felt like hours as Videl sobbed softly into Gohan's broad shoulders.

She berated herself in her mind, how could she possibly imagine such horrible images. How could she possibly imagine herself happy like that without her mother? And when her mother did appear. . . She didn't want to think about the way she looked, had she imagined herself moving on despite her mother's passing? Impossible!

Once she finally stopped sobbing, Gohan looked down and smiled softly, "I'm going to go make lunch. It's a little late for breakfast." His voice was so soothing.

Videl took a quick shower to wash her face, when she was done, she put on some active wear and headed downstairs.

Gohan cooked up a storm as Videl smiled at him. She suddenly tensed as she noticed the scenery. Her mind went back to her dream, she looked over at the table and saw the five dragon balls sitting in a circle. She balled her fist in anger, '_So what? I just give up on collecting them and settle down with Gohan?_' she thought to herself angrily as Gohan snapped his fingers in front of her.

"Videl?" The concern evident in his voice again. He hated seeing her like this, stuck in her head, depression teeming in her mind. He snapped his fingers again and got her attention, "Videl, are you alright?"

Videl relaxed a little and gave a fake smile, "Yeah, great!" She lied, obviously as Gohan crooked his eyebrow, clearly not believing her. "I'm fine Gohan, I'm just a little hungry is all." She answered before Gohan could express his disbelief.

Gohan forced a smile, still not believing her, but always happy to oblige when it came to food. He placed a plate full of food in front of her as she dug in ferociously.

After awhile, silence returned as Videl slowed down her eating. '_I still don't believe it. I couldn't possibly abandon this journey. Not because of Gohan. He's great and all, and that little girl was cute..._' she paused her thoughts and smiled at the soft features of the girl from her dreams. '_My little Panny... NO! I can't think about her now! I have to bring back mama! I can't be happy without mama!_' she thought to herself, not realizing she made the last declaration a little bit outside of her thoughts.

Gohan frowned, he felt as though he got a small inkling into how her brain was working, she is directly linking her happiness on her mother and was basically refusing herself to feel anything else without her. He hadn't studied psychology much, but he knew that was unhealthy.

Videl looked up to see Gohan with the saddest look she had ever seen on that perfect face. She took a deep breath, "Hey Gohan, have you ever thought you could be happy without your dad around? Like true, genuine happiness?" Videl blurted out as Gohan stared quizzically, not expecting a question out of left field like that.

He quickly shook it off, "Well sure! Why not?" He exclaimed with a happy voice.

Videl stared wide-eyed as Gohan gave his goofy grin. "Seems a little harsh towards your father. Don't you love him?" She asked with a confused tone as he realized how heartless he must have sounded.

"No, no. I didn't mean it like that, what I meant was, uh, ah jeez." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he took a deep breath. He looked at her, his eyes shining brightly, "My father was one of the greatest men to ever live. When he was around you couldn't help but feel like everything would be alright. But he also made his decision to stay in Otherworld. I guess the best way to describe how I feel is there's no use crying over spilt milk." Gohan chuckled as Videl was enraptured by his eyes.

"Besides, I have felt true genuine happiness several times since he passed away. Goten was born, high school graduation, although I only felt happy about that because I thought it meant no more studying," he laughed before looking deep in her eyes, "And I can't lie, I've felt pretty damn happy being on this trip with you." He blushed as he told her that.

She felt butterflies in her stomach as he said that, her cheeks burning as he stared deep into her soul with those amazing eyes.

She needed to distract herself quick, she saw the dragon radar out of the corner of her eye and grabbed it. "Well would you look at that, it looks like we'll have to go into the city after all!" She declared, "I'll go change into something inconspicuous, we don't want to look like we're searching for something, right? Right!" She said as she rushed to her room.

She looked in her mirror and realized she still looked like the "Champ's" daughter. She eyed the scissors and realized a quick fix to that solution.

Gohan waited for her outside, surprised when she stepped out in a large trench coat and sporting a new haircut. He was a little confused by the coat, but he was completely entranced by her new haircut. He didn't realize how much he liked short hair on girls until he saw Videl with short hair. '_What do you mean? You only like it because it is Videl._' a voice in the back of his head said to him as he nodded in agreement.

He decided to ignore the trench coat and the two took off for the city.

* * *

The bubbly blonde pulled weeds in the garden as part of her chores. She was ready to move into her dorm and away from all these damnable weeding and pruning of her mother's garden. She looked up to see men a couple years her senior walking by every now and then. '_Then again, it's not all bad._' she thought to herself as she wiped a bit of sweat from her brow.

She put her head down for a little bit to continue her work when she heard a faint beeping. As the beeping got closer, she looked up to see the chiseled jaw of a greek god walking down the sidewalk next to a shorter guy with a trench coat. She smirked confidently as she purposely bent down to show off her _assets_ to the godlike being. The two stopped in front of her house, which she noticed out of the corner of her eye.

As Videl turned towards the house, her eye twitched in frustration, '_It had to be her house!_' she thought annoyed as she slammed the radar into her face.

"Is it close?" Gohan asked innocently as Videl nodded with her face planted in the radar. She pointed at the house and Gohan turned to look at it, immediately noticing a blonde haired girl in the front yard. In a cheerful voice he greeted her, "Hello! Could I ask a favor?" Gohan requested politely as Videl glared at him.

Erasa turned around and smirked, walking over to the two, "For you cutie..." She inspected him up and down and gave a lustful smile, "Anything." She replied with a wink.

Videl buried her face in her hand, "Oh my god." she said to herself annoyed by her behavior. She lowered the radar to reveal her face, "Erasa, really?" Videl said aloud as Erasa turned to her.

"What? You want some attention too?" She asked before she noticed the blue eyes. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, "Uh, Hi Videl!" Erasa's confidence returned, "So I see you found yourself a man." She inferred as Videl blushed brightly.

"Leave it Erasa!" She exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Erasa waved it off and turned her attention to Gohan again, "So cutie, what favor do you need? I have plenty." She said with a wink again as she wrapped her arms around his muscular bicep. Videl blushed furiously as she turned red with anger.

"Well, we think you have something we're looking for, we were hoping to look around for it." Gohan said, not catching the innuendo that could have been interpreted by that.

"Oh, you can search for whatever you want. I'll make sure you'll find it." Erasa escorted him in with Videl seething from behind them, but followed.

Gohan sat down on the couch and Erasa sat down next to him. Videl sat in a chair across from them, trying to ignore Erasa's clear and obvious behavior. "So what are you guys looking for? I'm surprised to even see you here considering I haven't seen you in years!" Erasa exclaimed as Videl sat resolute.

Gohan looked at Videl, he had yet to see her act like this, so quiet, an air of sad anger. "Videl?" He asked as the two looked to her. "Are you alright?" He asked concerned. Videl just leaned back and crossed her arms.

"Yeah, just let her know why we're here. I'm going to the bathroom." Videl replied curtly as she stood and walked out of the room.

Gohan stared confused as Erasa shook her head sadly. "She's still caught up on her mother, isn't she? 7 Years and still trying to find some way to bring her back." Erasa spoke sadly as she let go of Gohan's arm. She looked up and smiled at him, "Anyway, I'm just glad she is working through it. How long have you two been dating?" She asked as Gohan blushed and tensed up.

"That's nonsense! We aren't dating! She came to my house looking for an artifact the same way we are here!" Gohan waved defensively as Videl listened from around the corner.

"Don't be silly! I've just met you and you're so obviously crazy for her!" Erasa exclaimed, causing Videl and Gohan to blush. Videl decided this was a good chance to raid Erasa's house for the dragon ball. "So why are you guys here? What artifact?" Erasa asked curiously as she leaned towards him.

Gohan pulled out his Four star dragon ball, Erasa noticing it pointed surprised at it. "You have one of those too!?" She asked as Gohan nodded.

"It's called a dragon ball. There are seven in total. When you collect all of them you can summon the eternal dragon, Shenron, to make two wishes. Shenron even has the power to bring people back to life. That's why Videl is looking for them." Gohan explained as Erasa's face contorted into one of anger.

"Is that what she is doing? Getting innocent guys like you to help her with this futile quest? I can't believe her!" Erasa exclaimed as she stood up to walk to her room, knowing where the dragon ball was placed.

Gohan was confused by the outburst, "No, it's a noble quest. People have been revived before. It should be no problem." Gohan explained as Erasa turned to him with a glare before exiting and going to her bedroom to find Videl with the dragon ball in hand.

Videl looked nervous as she put her hand behind her back to hide the dragon ball. Erasa glared, "So I see you're being a thief as well as a liar!" Erasa exclaimed as Videl scowled in return.

"What have I lied about? Gohan told you what we were after, didn't he? Where's the lie?" Videl asked, genuinely offended as Erasa closed the gap and grabbed Videl by the wrist holding the dragon ball.

"So you're telling me that you didn't tell Gohan that these are magical?" Erasa asked as Gohan stood in the doorway, genuinely confused, the blonde sighed as she pressed her fingers into her temples. "I have been patient with your delusions over the past seven years Videl. I miss your mom too, but you've got to move on at some point."

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO ERASA! You stopped hanging out with me the minute I prioritized my studies." Videl exclaimed in an unusually booming voice.

"YOU DIDN'T PRIORITIZE! YOU DIVED HEADFIRST! I called your fucking mansion every day and you would give a one word greeting and then zone out while I talked." Erasa began to cry, "I would ask when you wanted to hangout all the fucking time and you ignored me, or pretended not to hear, or just straight up said no! Months ago when your dad told me he didn't know where you were, I continued calling every day to ask. After awhile, I just assumed you finally offed yourself!" She yelled in a raspier voice and tears blinding her.

In a small voice, "I cried for a month straight." Erasa said as she met Videl's eyes. Videl had some tears falling, but her face was cold as steel. Gohan knew nothing about friends his own age, but he remembered isolating himself from his father's friends for a few months. But Krillin, Vegeta, and Piccolo were nothing if not persistent.

They all stood in silence for a while. Erasa glared, "Don't you have anything to say?!" She yelled in a squeaky voice as Videl recoiled. Erasa turned to Gohan who's face was noticeably more sad than Videl's. She turned back to Videl, "It's bad enough to abandon me, but to drag an innocent boy like him into your delusions. I'm sorry that heart virus took your mother." Gohan's eyes widened at that, all other noises faded away.

'_That heart disease? The same one dad had? But if she died of that, then that means. Oh no, oh fuck no. Shenron can't bring back somebody who passed of natural causes._' Gohan thought as Videl suddenly started walking away, shoving passed him. He wanted to follow, but was rooted to the ground. He looked back to Erasa who had a scowl to rival Videl's etched across her face.

"Did you not hear? Apparently you're just going to take the ball and leave. Tell that bitch I hope she succeeds." Erasa spoke angrily as she noticed Gohan's spooked face. "What's the matter?" Her voice was more concerned now. Once Gohan heard the front door slam shut he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"D-did you, did you say that Videl's mother had, had a heart virus?" Gohan stammered through his question as Erasa looked down in disappointment.

"She didn't even bother to tell you. I guess that's fair, she's never stopped grieving from it. There was a heart virus going around just before Cell appeared. Videl's mother died just a week before the Cell Games." Erasa explained as she looked back at Gohan who was slowly falling to the floor. "Why, what's wrong with that?" Erasa asked as Gohan who seemed to have the thousand yard stare. He couldn't believe he was so stupid, not asking sooner the cause of her mother's death.

With a heavy sigh he looked Erasa right in the eye. "You cannot tell Videl, but-"

"Won't be a problem, she refuses to talk to me anymore." Erasa interrupted.

Gohan gave a small glare, "BUT, as powerful as the dragon balls are, Shenron cannot bring someone back who died of natural causes." he put his arm over his eyes, "Videl's going to be devastated."

* * *

**End Chapter**

**Please Read and Review, let me know what you think. If you don't know literary themes well enough to comment on them, don't worry, I encourage questions that I can answer as well. If you ask a question as a Guest, please leave a number after Guest so that I can address it specifically at the end of the chapters. If you are a user that asks a question, I will send you a private message to answer it.**

**I still work a full work week despite COVID-19, so I have limited time to write. I also don't know why, but I do not receive messages unless on the desktop, so I will not be able to answer from the app.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry it has taken so long. Kind of been bouncing ideas off of a knowledgeable reviewer. I want to be great at writing, and talking to this reviewer has given me ideas as well as thought on how to improve this story.**

**Always enjoy giving a shoutout to 'I Before A except after K' because this story has been one I have enjoyed writing and he/she, (I don't know your gender bud.) has been a treat and quite helpful. I also have limited reading and writing time, and I want to read Gh/Vi stories just as much as I want to write them.**

**Last chapter, Gohan discovered the cause of Videl's mother's death. That being that it was a natural death. Dragon Balls clearly won't work, and he has to think of a way to tell her. I will also try to develop their relationship a little more.**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Erasa stared in confusion at the young demi-saiyan before her. "What do you mean they won't work? Why are you speaking as if they would have in the first place?" she asked as Gohan shot her a slightly annoyed look.

"Believe what you want, but I can attest to the power of the dragon balls. I've witnessed it firsthand. However, there are things that are out of the power of the dragon." Gohan stated as he turned to leave, "For example, Shenron cannot bring back someone who has died before, and he cannot resurrect those who die of NATURAL causes." He said as he reached the front door and reached for the handle.

Erasa watched, her arms crossed indignantly, "Suppose I believe you mystery boy. If that's the truth, you have to tell her." Erasa declared obstinately as Gohan turned on his heel and glowered at the blonde.

"I know that! Do you think I don't? But how am I supposed to tell her that? It'll break her heart!" Gohan exclaimed sternly as Erasa was undeterred by him raising his voice at her.

"It'll break her heart anyway when your dragon friend says he can't grant the damn wish! No matter how ignorant you pretend to act when that happens, she will know that you knew." She pointed out as Gohan was slightly taken aback, he wasn't the greatest liar, but how hard could playing dumb actually be? He tossed the thought out of his mind. He wasn't a liar and he wasn't about to start by lying to Videl. Before he could retort she had already seemed to read his thoughts, "Despite her technologically inclined mind, she originally wanted to be a cop, and she is very good at ascertaining the truth. You can lie to her and say you didn't know, but she will never believe you."

Gohan nodded, "I don't plan to lie to her, but I need to find the right time to tell her." Gohan pointed out as Erasa looked skeptically at him.

"I don't know what exactly you feel for her, but telling someone that their mother is dead, for good? Well, is there really ever a right time for that?" Erasa asked as Gohan took a deep breath.

"I suppose you're right." Gohan stated as he gave her a light smile and turned back towards the door. Erasa however felt a little weak at the knees at the sight of that smile and gave a wicked smirk.

"By the way mystery boy, if it doesn't go well with Videl, feel free to visit anytime. I'm sure I can help you out with a few things." She said with teasing voice and a wink.

Gohan blushed slightly at the proposition and quickly left her house to see Videl getting visibly angrier at a boy with long blonde hair wearing a wifebeater shirt. He walked up with a friendly smile, "Everything alright here?" He asked innocuously.

* * *

***A Few Minutes Earlier***

Videl slammed the door behind her as she left the house and prepared to decapsulate her jet for a quick getaway, only to run into another annoyance of her childhood smirking at her as he looked at her up and down, clearly checking her out like a piece of meat.

"As I live and breath, Videl Satan returning to Satan City, to Erasa of all people." he taunted as Videl glowered darkly.

"If you mention it to anybody, you won't be doing either of those things for very long." She shot back as she pushed passed him and brought her jet copter out of its capsule.

He followed her with his eyes directly on her butt. "Now now, that's no way to talk to an old friend, is it?" He asked smugly as Videl glared back. Her patience already tested by the blonde slut that this man-whore was clearly here to see.

"That depends Sharpy, if you're the supposed old friend, then yes, it is the proper way to talk to you." Videl spat back as Sharpener ran his fingers through his long blonde hair and put one arm on the door to prevent her from getting in.

"Sweetie, this song and dance of ours is going to come to an end eventually. Why not just accept it, my bed is big enough for you and Erasa." the boy pontificated as Videl was tempted to grab him by the wrist and forcefully remove his hand. "Besides with this new haircut you're sporting, it makes sense why you've tried so hard to resist me, but I'm perfectly okay with sharing you with her."

Videl seethed at the implication and turned on her heel only to see Gohan walking towards the two. She hid a smirk as he walked up, "Everything alright here?" Gohan asked innocuously.

Sharpener glared at him but took a step back and shrugged, "Of course, I was ju-" he started only to receive an elbow to the stomach as Videl pushed him away.

Videl hopped up onto Gohan and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a hug. "It's better now Gohan, ready to go honey?" She asked with a sultry voice before planting a kiss on his cheek.

Gohan blushed brightly as he nodded and made his way towards the jet copter and reached for the handle. As he was doing so, Sharpener slapped his hand on the door to prevent it from opening.

"Now wait just a minute, you think you can just walk up and steal my girl?" He asked, his infuriated tone marking how his pride had been hurt.

Videl smirked, knowing from a previous conversation that Gohan held a lot of value in individualism. Gohan looked at Sharpener slightly annoyed as he opened the door very easily, knocking Sharpener to the ground as he did, and let Videl hop in.

Sharpener's pride taking another hit as this boy seemed to match him in physical strength. He got to his feet and put his fists up, getting ready to fight, "What did you just say?" Gohan asked incredulously, as if challenging him to repeat himself.

"You heard me. You come up out of nowhere and steal my girl! She belongs to me!" Sharpener declared as Videl scoffed at that from her seat.

Gohan hopped in and the two began to hover into the air, as Sharpener hung from his underwear on the highest branch of the tallest tree in Erasa's yard. Videl shrugged, "I thought that would take longer. Definitely didn't expect the atomic wedgie." Videl said quietly to herself with a smirk as she looked out the window, not realizing that Gohan was already in a mood from trying to figure out how to tell her the truth about the dragon balls.

He took a deep breath and turned to her, "Videl, could we go somewhere and talk?" He asked as Videl turned towards him with a blush, thinking he wanted to know what that kiss was about, or that hug... or everything about that moment.

"Y-yeah, I guess." She had yet to come to terms with any sort of feelings she might have for Gohan, but she couldn't deny the warmth she felt when she wrapped her arms around his neck. She just wanted to tease Sharpener, the ass-kicking he got was also a pleasant surprise.

They flew in silence for all of ten seconds when they heard the engine groan loudly. "You've gotta be shitting me! I just tuned it up this morning!" Videl exclaimed annoyed as she landed to take a look at the engine.

Gohan sat nervously, knowing it wasn't the engine that made that noise. Videl checked every piece of hardware but found nothing loose, nothing was disconnected, nothing seemed to be wrong with the engine. "Can you start it up? I need to see it running." Videl asked as Gohan leaned out the window.

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner... that wasn't the engine." Gohan said sheepishly as Videl looked up at him confused.

"Of course it was, what else could have made that noise!" She asked as the sound of Gohan's stomach erupted like a volcano. She glared at him through squinted eyes, "Can't you control that bottomless pit Gohan?" She asked with a heavy sigh.

Gohan apologized as Videl began laughing, "It's fine Gohan. Let's go feed the beast." Videl offered as Gohan's face lit up.

Videl put the jet in its capsule and the pair began walking towards downtown. "So, what did you want to talk about Gohan?" She asked curiously as they walked side-by-side.

Gohan got a little tense, "Eh, that conversation would be better for later, when we're alone. It's kind of hard to talk about when people are around." Gohan said matter-of-factly as he gestured to the crowded street.

Videl nodded, a little more worried about what he could have to say. _'__Did he not want to travel with her anymore? Is he freaking out because of that little cheek peck? It meant nothing. I mean, I guess not nothing, but nothing serious. His cheeks are really soft. I wouldn't mind kissing them again. No, no. NO. Stop thinking about that. What could he want to talk about? Is it about Erasa? Did that little slut get to him?_' her imagination ran wild as she turned to see him looking at her confused.

"What?" Videl asked as Gohan raised an eyebrow.

"Did you not hear what I asked?" Gohan said accusingly as Videl blushed deeply.

"No, sorry, I got lost in my thoughts." She said nervously looking at her feet.

Gohan gave a bright smile and waved it off, "That's fine. I was just curious, let's say your mother hadn't passed, what would you wish for instead?" Gohan asked as Videl was taken aback by the random question.

She thought about it for a second, "You know, I've never thought about it. This has kind of been my goal for the past seven years." Videl stated as realization dawned on her that she might actually be obsessed.

"That's fine, take all the time you need to think about it." Gohan said, trying to get her mind on something else.

'_I can't believe I've never thought about this. I guess I didn't need to, I would only get one wish, and that's all I needed._' she thought as she looked up at Gohan who was still smiling at her as they walked. She didn't even realize that he had grabbed a hold of her arm as they walked, and had been dodging and weaving through foot traffic as he continued to look appreciatively at her. '_Lucky I don't have to wish for him. He's already here.__ . . STOP._' she thought as she pushed a blush down.

"I guess I would wish to fly like you do. I may have tinkered with my jet to make it the fastest in the world, but I can't help but feel like it doesn't compare to the feel of wind hitting your bare skin as you fly through the air." Videl said shyly as Gohan stopped and smiled before pulling her into an alleyway, picking her up and flying straight upward.

"Tsk, I'm not a magical wish-granting dragon, but I can at least grant you that wish." He said smoothly as they flew faster than they walked towards a restaurant from Videl's childhood.

Videl whooped in excitement as they flew causing Gohan to laugh, "If you want, once we're done eating, I can teach you to fly yourself." Gohan said as he admired the childlike wonder in her eyes.

"Would you!?" She exclaimed as Gohan nodded and she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, letting her grief over her mother drift away momentarily.

They landed in front as Videl smiled widely, it'd been almost 10 months since she had Delaney's Pizzeria. It was a hole in the wall for sure, but easily the best pizza in the city.

Although Gohan was convinced by the first syllable. Didn't take much to make Gohan happy. They went in and ordered three extra large pizzas for takeout. As soon as the order came out, Videl suggested they eat on a nearby roof to be alone.

They sat quietly on the rooftop of Orange Star High School as Gohan devoured most of the pizzas they had ordered. "So this is your old high school, huh?" Gohan asked after laying back and patting his stomach content.

"Yup, one of the best high schools in the world. 2nd only to West City High, but West City has Capsule Corp., hard to compete when they could literally get Bulma Briefs to come in and teach anytime." Videl said, feeling defensive of her school's own pedigree.

"What were you like in school? Erasa made it sound like you were extremely studious." Gohan asked curiously as Videl smirked.

"As a matter of fact, I was. Why? Does that turn you on Homeschool?" Videl asked teasingly as Gohan blushed.

"It'd be a lie if I said no." He teased back with a blush as the two began laughing. "I suppose I can't help it. Between mother and father, I was raised to admire intelligence and strength." Gohan pointed out as he thought back to his childhood of studying and training. He couldn't help but wonder if his Saiyan genes had any say in the strength part, whether that was instinct to admire strength, or how he was raised.

Videl smiled as he seemed to delve into his memories, "So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you react to your father's death?" Videl asked as Gohan laughed.

"Which one?" he asked legitimately, with a chuckle as Videl automatically assumed the dragon balls were responsible for that response.

"I guess when you fought Cell. Considering that one seemed to stick... no offense." Videl added quickly, realizing her poor choice of words.

Gohan waved it off, "Not a problem, it's been seven years. I assume you don't know what happened after a certain point because the cameras were destroyed, right?" Gohan asked as Videl nodded.

His face turned serious, it wasn't his favorite memory, but time had mostly healed the wounds he felt from that day. "I knocked the cameras out by ascending to a higher level of Super Saiyan. And-" he took a deep breath, "And I tortured Cell. I reveled in his pain. I was enjoying ripping the wings off that bug." His voice dripped with malice as he subconsciously powered up slightly, pebbles raising around them.

Instead of step away out of fear, Videl placed a hand on his knee, trying to calm him down. He looked at her with silent thanks, "Sorry, not the best memory. Anyway, after I knocked him out of his perfect form, he blew up like a balloon, activating his self-destruct measure. My dad, being the hero he was-" Videl couldn't help but note the slight resentment in his voice, "-took it upon himself to step in and take Cell far away with a teleportation technique he had learned. He sacrificed himself because I messed up." Gohan ended as Videl got confused.

"How did you mess up? You were beating up Cell. You were WINNING against Cell." She pointed out as she looked around at the peaceful planet, "YOU BEAT CELL!" she said gesturing to their surroundings.

Gohan sat up, but his eyes were dark, "I should've finished off Cell before he had a chance to activate the self-destruct. My father told me to do so, and I didn't listen. Because death was too easy for Cell. He needed to be taught fear." He paused as he relaxed his hands which had balled into fists, "At least that's what I told myself so I could torment him. Because I enjoyed it." Gohan looked up cautiously. He had never outright admitted that he took pleasure in what he did to Cell.

Videl never expected to hear that either, this boy was so gentle around her, hardly any malice had emitted from him. She could also feel his pain when he spoke of it. She placed a hand on his shoulder before pulling him into a hug, surprising Gohan.

They separated and Gohan eyed her curiously, "I just told you that I tortured Cell for fun, and basically indirectly committed patricide, and you hug me? You might need therapy." He said with a joking tone as Videl chuckled at the surprisingly dark joke.

"Maybe, but you looked like you could use a hug. Institutionalize me if that seems crazy." Videl retorted as Gohan chuckled.

"Anyway, after my father teleported away, Cell ended up coming back, stronger than ever. So I didn't have much time to grieve immediately, then I beat Cell. We went to go wish people Cell had killed back to life, tried wishing my dad back, he refused to return, so I had to go tell mother. That was pleasant, at one point she blamed herself because, and I quote, 'He knew I would kill him for letting you(me) fight.' which, could've been true. Shortly after, Mother had told me that she was pregnant with Goten, so I studied up so I could help out. So it took time before I could properly grieve." Gohan explained in summation as Videl nodded along, even laughing at his mother's quote.

"When I was finally able to grieve, most of my anger was gone, I mean, I did throw a little bit of a fit." Gohan felt Videls accusing eyes on him.

"The whole truth on that would be nice." Videl accused as Gohan smiled sheepishly.

"That is the truth though. It was just a little fit." Gohan attempted to lie as Videls glare deepened. "Little in comparison to what I could do as opposed to what I did do..." Videls glare had turned into a scowl. "...I almost destroyed the whole solar system." Gohan admitted as Videls eyes widened in astonishment.

"You-you what?" She asked incredulously as Gohan laughed nervously.

"I was going to allow my power to completely consume me and explode. The amount of power contained in my body would have destroyed the entire solar system." Gohan said matter-of-factly, although, he quickly deduced that that was not the correct answer.

Videl sat in shock, trying to form words. "So, um, how, uh, how are we still here then?" Videl asked, a mixture of fear and curiosity laced in her words.

"Two of my friends attacked me, kept coming at me until I was too tired out to move, then lectured me." Gohan said, slightly ashamed of his attempted destruction. "Honestly surprised they had enough energy to keep coming at me like that, but I'm glad they did."

"Like I said, all of this is not my favorite memory. But it helped me realize that death, although a sucky part, is still a part of life. And as much as we would like to change it sometimes, we can't. Everyone wanted my dad to come back to life, but he refused. As much as I want to change that, and bring him home, he's made his decision. Nothing will bring him back to us, and we've accepted that and are living in his memory." He smiled as he spoke, although Videl was feeling as though he was aiming that lecture at her directly.

"Gohan, you had something you wanted to talk to me about, and I can't help but feel it relates to you little speech there." Videl stated as Gohan flinched, they were technically alone.

He took a deep breath, "There are some things about the dragon balls that you should know." Gohan started as Videls breath hitched in her throat.

"Like what?" she asked nervously, not sure what he was about to tell her.

"Well first, their wish granting power is limited by the creator of the dragon balls. That being said, Shenron, the dragon, he-" He took another deep breath before looking deep into her eyes to summon the courage he needed to tell her. "-He cannot bring someone back to life, who died of natural causes."

The words echoed in Videls ears as her eyes shrank. Gohan waved a hand in front of her face as she slowly became unresponsive. The news shook her, she had spent years preparing for her journey, diving into her studies, ignoring friendships, isolating herself in her room for months at a time to work on her dragon radar. Now on the cusp of victory, she is being told it was all for nothing?

Her eyes refocused on Gohan. "No." she stated adamantly, her tone remaining calm.

"No?" Gohan asked as Videl nodded. "What do you mean no?" Gohan asked to clarify.

"I mean no." Videl stated slightly more forcefully, her tone remaining calm. "I have spent too much time, too much effort, too many sacrifices to my social and familial relationships to just accept that as an answer. You think you're an expert on the dragon balls, but have you ever tried to resurrect someone who died of natural causes?" Videl asked, her determination unwavering.

Gohan lowered his head slightly, not expecting such resistance, "Well, I mean, no. But that's because it was common fact to all of us. Not to mention the untold damage it could cause if we tried to upset the natural order." Gohan explained as Videl shot a mean look.

"BULLSHIT! If you were worried about the 'Natural Order of Things' then you wouldn't ever try bringing anyone back. After all, what's dead should stay dead, that's what the natural order says, but you literally just said your father has died twice! How many of your other friends have died and been brought back?" Videl asked sincerely as Gohan sighed. Almost everyone connected to his life had died at least once. "Your silence says a lot Gohan." She said with annoyance as she brought out her jet copter. "I'm not giving this up Gohan. I'll hear it from the dragons mouth if I have to, but as far as I'm concerned, this changes nothing."

Gohan sighed, her mind was made up, she would have to hear it herself. "Fine, I can see there's nothing I can do to change your mind." Gohan said as he approached the jet copter quickly before she could hop in and blocked her entrance.

She glared at him as he smiled, "But I believe I promised you flying lessons. By the time I'm done, you won't need this anymore." He said kindly as a soft smile graced her beautiful face once more.

"Then get to it fly boy!" The stubborn determination laced her voice happily. "I might as well get something from this journey in case the dragon balls don't work like you said." She stated teasingly.

Gohan ordered her to sit down as he began to explain ki and the uses and applications of the energy. As the sun set, the only light was from the two ki balls that student and teacher produced.

* * *

**END CHAPTER**

**A/N: **My chapters are getting longer, and I hope y'all don't mind. I tried to develop their relationship more, make it more visible. Have them teasing each other, a little bit of flirting. Including some more characterization. A little Sharpener torture. Let's be honest, if anyone says another person is nothing but property, you'd want to wedgie the shit out of them too.

A few small retcons, that might not be retcons.  
(1) I don't remember if I ever had Gohan teach Videl to fly or any of that, so going forward, this is the first official time they start that training.  
(2) I don't actually remember if Gohan introduced himself to Erasa or not. I think I would have, he was raised better than that. But since I can't remember, all Erasa, or Sharpener for that matter, know is that Videl is safe, but with a mystery boy.  
If you remember, Launch was hardly in DBZ because Akira Toriyama simply forgot about her existence. So I hope y'all don't judge me harshly for simply forgetting about things within my own story.

If you notice any plot holes. Bring them to my attention, I will check them out, and if it is hardly noticeable in my eyes, I'd just say ignore it.


	8. IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE

_**!AUTHOR'S NOTE!**_

I truly apologize for the lack of posting. I haven't had the time to write. This whole COVID-19 thing is causing it so I simply don't have enough time to sit down and write.

That may change in a week or two, but I cannot guarantee it will. In any case, I have a desire to rewrite Videl's Search. I want to try and put a little more characterization between the couple. Try and bring in an antagonist, maybe someone else who is searching for the dragon balls. Maybe have a little more support coming from Erasa, but also a little more motivation for Videl to go through with this search. Maybe even have Gohan come into OSH as Videl is preparing for her search for the dragon balls.

I don't know yet, but this story has been very popular, and I like that people have enjoyed it. So I want to expand it a little and retcon a few things to try and improve it.

I request that you please be patient with me, as I am having less and less time to write out the chapters. So there will be no set schedule for the chapters. I will have them out as frequently as I possibly can.

When I do repost it and restart it, there will be no prologue it will just start with chapter 1 and I will world build as I go instead of trying to set the tone and world in the first chapter.

I will also change the title, but it will say in the description that it is a re-write of Videls Search.

So please, be on the lookout for "**Her Quest.**"

Thank You for the support in the past, and I hope and look forward to your continued support.


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